


Things that go Bump in the Night

by Riotstar



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Edgar Allan Poe References, Fluff and Crack, Halloween, M/M, Pranks and Practical Jokes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27167407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riotstar/pseuds/Riotstar
Summary: His blissful solitude was interrupted by a loud thud, followed by the sound of something breaking, and an even louder "fuck!". Thomas sighed and stubbed out his cigarette.
Relationships: Thomas Barrow/Jimmy Kent
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33





	Things that go Bump in the Night

**Author's Note:**

> Just a dumb bit of spoopy fluff, set sometime in season 4.

Thomas sat alone at the servants table, enjoying the peace and quiet with a cigarette and a good book. Most of the younger staff members had gone into Thirsk for the evening, to watch a scary movie. Carson had been reluctant, but as it was Halloween, and the cinema in the village was showing an imported American horror movie for one night only, he had reluctantly acquiesced. Thomas had been invited, but had politely declined. He'd seen one scary movie before, and found the whole thing rather silly. The actor's make up was unconvincing, and it was all so fantastical and far removed from reality that it didn't frighten him at all.

"But that's the point!" Jimmy had said, when Thomas had explained his reason for staying behind. "It's supposed to be unrealistic, you've got no imagination."

"If I've got to use my imagination for it to be scary then what's the point. I could just imagine I'm being told off by Mrs Hughes."

"A terrifying prospect." Jimmy's eyes widened. Carson was frequently fuming away about something, but if you managed to make Mrs Hughes angry then you truly had done something awful. "But you won't know if you like it if you don't at least try!"

"I did try, and it was dull. I'd much rather stay home and read some Edgar Allen Poe, now those were proper horror stories." He pulled a small, black leather bound book out of his pocket to show Jimmy.

"Pfft, how can a book be scary, it's just words on a page."

"Now who's the one with no imagination?"

The others had gradually filtered in, a strange mix of giddy and apprehensive. Alfred had jumped out from behind the door frame at Ivy and Daisy to make them jump. Ivy had screamed, and Daisy had kicked him in the shin, and the ensuing argument had been vaguely amusing, but Thomas had pretended to be totally absorbed in his book so he wouldn't have to get involved. Jimmy, however, was still not back.

His blissful solitude was interrupted by a loud _thud_ , followed by the sound of something breaking, and an even louder "fuck!". Thomas sighed and stubbed out his cigarette. He went to investigate, and found Jimmy in the kitchen, gesturing helplessly at what had been a stack of plates, but was now a heap of broken shards. 

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

"Well, look what the cat dragged in."

"Thomas, stop gloating and help me!" Jimmy was obviously sozzled. Why he'd evidently been drinking on his own for at least an hour, Thomas could only guess, but in his tipsy state he'd clearly stumbled into the kitchen, and trashed the place in the process. Jimmy was bending down to start picking up the bits of smashed porcelain when Thomas grabbed him by the arms to stop him.

"No, you'll cut yourself." Jimmy froze, and allowed Thomas to steer him towards the servants hall, out of harm's way. Thomas deposited him in the arm chair by the fire, and went to deal with the mess. After he'd swept the broken china away, he went back to find Jimmy holding his book of Poe's short stories, upside down, squinting at one of the illustrations. Thomas stifled a laugh.

"Other way round."

"What's it supposed to be?" Thomas sat down on the arm of the chair to see which page Jimmy was looking at. 

"It's the beam of a lantern, illuminating a pale blue eye!" Thomas tried to make it sound eerie, but Jimmy just went 'pfft' in response.

"What's scary about an eye?"

"It's from The Tell-Tale Heart. It's about a man who's neighbour has an eye like a vulture, and he becomes fixated with it, so much so that it drives him mad."

"Sounds stupid."

"It's not, it's a classic. You should read it."

"Too tired." Jimmy flopped dramatically in the chair, leaning one elbow on Thomas's thigh. "Read it to me."

"Ok." Thomas swallowed heavily, and tried to ignore how Jimmy was half lying on him. He took the book out of his hands and began to read aloud.

"TRUE! --nervous --very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses --not destroyed --not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily --how calmly I can tell you the whole story."

Jimmy lay his head on top of his arm, and listened attentively. 

"It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture --a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees --very gradually --I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever." Thomas continued.

"The old man's hour had come! With a loud yell, I threw open the lantern and leaped into the room. He shrieked once --once only. In an instant I dragged him to the floor, and pulled the heavy bed over him. I then smiled gaily, to find the deed so far done. But, for many minutes, the heart beat on with a muffled sound. This, however, did not vex me; it would not be heard through the wall. At length it ceased. The old man was dead. I removed the bed and examined the corpse. Yes, he was stone, stone dead. I placed my hand upon the heart and held it there many minutes. There was no pulsation. He was stone dead. His eye would trouble me no more."

"He killed 'im?"

"Yes, he killed him."

"Mad man."

"That's the point."

"Sorry, sorry, I'll stop interrupting, please continue." 

"Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble no more! I admit the deed! --tear up the planks! here, here! --It is the beating of his hideous heart!"" Thomas snapped the book shut for dramatic effect. By this point, Jimmy was gazing up at him, an expression of confused horror on his face.

"So, he killed 'im, hid his body under the floorboards, an' his heart kept beating?"

"Maybe it did, or maybe he just went mad and his guilt made him hear things."

"That's much more complicated than the movie we saw."

"Told you, books are scarier."

"Dunno 'bout scarier, pretentious more like."

"Come on, admit it, it creeped you out a bit."

"Did not!"

Jimmy sobered up enough to stumble up the stairs, remove his outer clothes and get into bed by himself, though he did need a little assistance with his shoe laces. As Thomas turned to leave, a mischievous idea formed in his mind. He went downstairs to fetch a glass of water, and as he did so, wrapped his pocket watch in his handkerchief. 

He returned to Jimmy's room, ostensibly to leave a glass of water at his bedside, and as he did so, slipped the wrapped pocket watch under his pillow. Jimmy was already snoring peacefully. Thomas grinned slyly to himself, went back to his own room, and settled down with his book to wait.

"Thomas! It's in me room!" Jimmy burst in, eyes wide. Thomas looked up innocently from the bed.

"What's in your room?"

"The heart, Thomas!"

"What heart?" Thomas maintained his calm, guileless demeanour. Jimmy looked like he was about to tear his hair out.

"The one from the story! I hear it, ticking away!"

"Don't be silly Jimmy, it's only a book."

"Go check if you don't believe me."

"Alright, but you're coming to."

"Fine."

Thomas pretended to investigate the mysterious ticking sound, methodically putting his ear to the floorboards, looking in the cupboard and drawers, but found nothing.

"There's nothing here, and I can't hear anything, go back to bed Jimmy."

"I'm tellin' you, I heard it!"

"Go back to bed."

"I… fine." Jimmy got into bed, and shot back out again as soon as his head hit the pillow. "It's in me bed Thomas!"

Thomas finally broke, and began laughing hysterically. Jimmy stared at him, appalled.

"You, you bastard!" He tore the pillow from the bed and found the handkerchief that contained the pocket watch. He looked from the handkerchief, to Thomas, and put two and two together. "You wanker, you arse!" He threw the pillow at Thomas, hard, causing him to let out an 'oooff', and then laugh even harder.

"It's in me bed!" Thomas mocked. 

"You absolute dick! Scared the bloody life outta me!" 

"Ahaha… I'm sorry, I'm done." Thomas calmed himself, his ribs were starting to hurt anyway.

"Should think so too." Jimmy pouted.

"Still, now you can't pretend you're not a scaredy-cat anymore." Thomas grinned. Jimmy's pout eventually morphed into a sheepish smile. 

"Guess not."

"And you'll admit that books can be scary?"

"With a bit of imagination, yeah."

Jimmy looked a little lost, now that his panic was over. He glanced from the bed, to Thomas, and a mischievous idea formed in his mind.

"Still, I'm all shaken up, how can I possibly sleep now?" He played dumb.

"It wasn't that bad, surely."

"I dunno, think you better sleep in here with me, to protect me, y'know, just in case the Things that go Bump in the Night are still out there." Thomas looked sceptical.

"You're the thing that goes bump in the night, how drunk are you?" 

"Much better now. If I hadn't sobered up before the fright did the trick!" 

"Are you sure about this?"

"'Course I bloody am." Jimmy got under the covers and held them open for Thomas. "Now come protect me from the scary monsters." Thomas picked the pillow up from the floor, placed it back on the bed and lay down beside Jimmy. Jimmy pulled the blankets over them both, and wrapped his left arm and leg around Thomas. Thomas felt tense as rope. 

"Will you bloody relax, it's fine." Jimmy squeezed tighter for emphasis.

"Sorry, just, this is just about the last thing I expected to happen tonight." Thomas tentatively wound his right arm around Jimmy's waist.

"Well, the last thing I expected was to have the bejesus scared out of me by my best mate, so I guess we're even."

"I guess we are."


End file.
